When it comes to Thanksgiving foods, mashed potatoes are always a favorite in our house. I’ve learned how to prep them ahead of time to make Thanksgiving Day easier, and how to make a larger batch so that we can keep them in the freezer for easy meals later in the winter.
For more Thanksgiving Tips, you can download my free Thanksgiving Guide here: Thanksgiving Guide
Buying in Bulk
Buying produce when it is in season and buying it in bulk are two ways to save money on groceries. I bought a 50lbs bag of potatoes during harvest season and they will last me for several months. In this recipe, I used 5 pounds to make this batch of mashed potatoes.
When you bring potatoes home from the store, they do not need to be washed. I store them in my pantry in a wire basket with a light cloth over it. The most important thing about storing potatoes is that they need to be kept at least 3 feet away from onions. Keeping them close to each other will cause them to spoil faster. You can see all of my tips for storing potatoes and onions in this video.
The Zero Waste Produce Guide has directions for how to wash and store 75 produce items, included potatoes and onions. It has all of the helpful tips about what items can be kept together and which cannot, along with 40 recipes! It is available in for 10% off in The Cross Legacy shop with code: BLOG10 at checkout or on Amazon.
From Mistake to Perfection
One year I made mashed potatoes for my family and over mixed them which gave them a consistency like glue. I never wanted to make that mistake again so I found a new way to make potatoes. The secret behind my perfect mashed potatoes is this ricer. It breaks the potatoes down into smaller pieces and then I finish mixing them by hand.
Save Money with the Freezer
Having a freezer with stocked ingredients helps to ensure that I have what I need for any recipes. Butter freezes well, so when it is on sale I stock up. During the Thanksgiving season is when it is usually at the lowest price of the entire year. I use my grocery planner to remember the items that I like to buy seasonally and planning ahead allows me to make sure I have space in my budget to buy extra butter at this time.
This recipe calls for buttermilk and if you don’t use it all, this is something that you can also freeze. I freeze it in ½ cup portions in Souper Cubes. This allows me to take it out when I’m making biscuits or pancakes.
If you want more tips for items that you can freeze and keeping an organized freezer, check out this video.
Freezing Mashed Potatoes
Whether it’s mashed potatoes, leftovers, or cooked proteins I always recommend freezing food in the portions that you want to use them in. For mashed potatoes, if I want to save them in portions for a side dish to a meal I’ll use Souper Cubes or glass containers. I feel like you always have to have mashed potatoes with meatloaf. Having them in the freezer makes it easy to ensure that I have them anytime. I batch cook a large batch and then we can enjoy them all winter long.
Another meal that we enjoy with mashed potatoes is Shepherds Pie. I’ll freeze mashed potatoes in the shape of my casserole dish so that when I want to make it, all I need to do is make the filling and I have homemade potatoes ready to do. You can also freeze an entire Shepherds Pie in a variety of sizes and containers for meal prep. You can get my full recipe for Shepherds Pie in this blog post.
Make Mashed Potatoes with Me
Video Link Coming Soon
Thanksgiving Recipes:
Blogs:
- How to Smoke a Turkey - https://thecrosslegacy.com/smoked-turkey/
- Turkey Brine - https://thecrosslegacy.com/turkeybrine/
- Turkey Stock - https://thecrosslegacy.com/chicken-stock/
- Turkey Pot Pie - https://thecrosslegacy.com/potpie/
- Thanksgiving Stuffing - https://thecrosslegacy.com/stuffing/
- Fall Leaves Tradition - https://thecrosslegacy.com/fallleaves/
Videos:
- Turkey Gravy Recipe: https://youtu.be/9qPC4OP1HTU
- Thanksgiving Turkey: https://youtu.be/lSuhOfUsm8Q
- Thanksgiving Stuffing: https://youtu.be/ImXbBhN6xig
- Thanksgiving Grocery Haul: https://youtu.be/kyWDx9HO_aA
- Thanksgiving Turkey Brine: https://youtu.be/Og80dt8Xygo
- Thawing a Turkey: https://youtu.be/ZmCveAdbuZ4
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3-5 garlic clove peeled and left whole
- 1 cup butter melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
- Salt for the cooking water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes under warm running water, leaving the skins on.
- Cut small potatoes in half and larger potatoes into quarters.
- Place the potatoes in a large stockpot and add enough water to cover them by about 2 inches.
- Add the peeled garlic cloves and salt the cooking water.
- Bring the water to a boil on heat and then reduce heat.
- Once boiling, start checking the potatoes after 15 minutes. If they are not tender, check every 5 minutes until a fork slides easily into them.
- Drain the potatoes and garlic in a large colander.
- Place the pot back on the stove and add the melted butter, buttermilk, and Parmesan.
- Let the potatoes cool just until they are comfortable to handle.
- Pull away the skins while the potatoes are still warm. They do not need to be perfectly peeled; the ricer will help catch remaining pieces of skin.
- Press the potatoes and cooked garlic through the ricer into the stockpot with the melted butter mixture.
- Gently fold everything together until combined and warmed through.
- Taste with a clean spoon and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve immediately, or continue with the holiday finish below.
Optional Thanksgiving Oven Finish
- Transfer the mashed potatoes to a casserole dish and sprinkle extra freshly grated Parmesan over the top.
- Bake at 375°F until the top is golden brown.
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